


The In-between Places

by Twilight2000



Category: Babylon 5
Genre: Gen, teamfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-30
Updated: 2014-04-30
Packaged: 2018-01-21 08:54:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1544954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Twilight2000/pseuds/Twilight2000
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There are many ways to support the fight against the Shadows, not all of them involve guns or even formal diplomacy. Sometimes it just takes a change of perspective.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The In-between Places

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sprocket](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sprocket/gifts).



Delenn looked at herself in the mirror. She had taken this form to be a bridge, to help Minbari and Human connect. Some of those among her own questioned her ability to speak for Minbar when she had left so much of them behind in her transformation. Some humans thought her transformation a trick, a lie. They didn't believe that she was anything other than a Minbari in costume. They couldn't be further from the truth. She'd had to learn a lot about becoming human. Beyond the physical issues like what to do with hair and new bodily behaviors, there was a lot about interacting with other humans that didn't make a lot of sense. Perhaps another chat with Ivanova was in order. She smiled, remembering the first one.

**********  
Talia couldn’t remember having a good friend. Someone she could really chew the fat with. Now, in the blink of an eye, she had found one in the most unlikely place she could have imagined. Ivanova of all people. The woman hated the psycorps for what it had done to her mother and had never shown any warmth to Talia. It was the whole underground railroad that seemed to have changed Susan's reaction to her. Or at least that's what she thought had done it. Whatever the reason, it was nice to have a friend to talk to. She dressed for the day. She had a few outfits that served as uniforms. All she had to do was add the gloves and the pin and everyone knew what she did for a living. She was beginning to tire of this life, but every time she thought she found a way out, it was a trap. Thanks, Matt.

**********  
Ivanova couldn't remember when she'd been so comfortable with so many people outside her very small circle. She generally had male friends because they were less complicated, less confusing, less – well just less weird. Sheridan and Garibaldi were pretty easy to figure out. Pretty straight forward. But now she had two new friends, both women, both very competent in their own fields, but not sure how to function in what passed for normal human society. And SHE was their guide? Good Grief. They were in trouble if she was the best advice they could find. Between Talia and Delenn, she wasn't sure which one was the odder duck. 

**********

"This day will be normal. I insist." Ivanova was walking toward C’n’C to start her shift and she was bound and determined to have a really boring day. The last few weeks had been filled with the Drazi purple and green wars, Technomages, Londo's wives and more. 

She looked up, clearly arguing with someone beyond the ceiling, "Is it so impossible that I should expect one normal day?" She shook her head, of course it was. 

One could hope.

She walked into C’n’C, ready for a morning briefing with Sheridan, only to discover Delenn standing there. Not a common sight in C’n’C. Certainly not a "normal" sight. Might as well hit it straight on.

"What can I do for you, Ambassador?" Maybe she just wanted to speak to the Captain.

Delenn wore the red and purple robes she had so often worn since her transition. Lovely wide sleeves, long A-lines. The outfit always made Ivanova think of Russian Fae. “Good morning, Susan. How are you this lovely day?"

"Um, I'm fine, uh, Delenn." This was an odd turn, but she should be at least polite. "And how are you?"

"I am well, thank you. May we speak?" She had on her best This Is Important air.

So much for normal.

"Will that take more than a few minutes? I'm just coming on duty."

"That will depend," she said smiling enigmatically. Oh goody, thought Ivanova; her enigmatic smile never promised easy. Or short. Or normal.

"Let me check in first?"

"Certainly, Susan." She never calls me Susan. This cannot be a good thing.

Ivanova checked in, made sure everything was running smoothly, asked the night shift to stay on a few more minutes till either Sheridan came on deck or she returned from her short meeting with the ambassador and, with one large Russian sigh, turned to head for the doors where she'd left Delenn.

Delenn followed Ivanova out of C’n’C and put her hand on the Commander’s shoulder, slowing her down. 

“Yes, Ambassador?”

“I’ve taken the liberty of reserving the conference room on level 3, if that’s to your liking.”

Of course she did. Because that’s 2 levels away and will take longer. “Certainly, Ambassador.”

Ivanova led the way down to the conference room and as the doors opened, she saw Talia Winters standing near them. “Good morning, Ms. Winters, I didn’t realize you were part of this little meeting?”

Nodding toward Delenn, “The Ambassador asked me here.” She still didn’t know what the Ambassador wanted, but as their paths so rarely crossed, but she had some free time and thought it might be intriguing.

Delenn smiled at both of them, “I did. Please, ladies, have a seat.” Delenn sat at the head of the table, motioning to both women to take the seat on either side of her. This particular conference room had no windows, so there was no sense of space. She hoped this would focus the discussion and allow her quick return to C’n’C.

"Alright Ambassador, what is it you want to talk to me about?

Delenn smiled again, "Just a moment, Commander Ivanova, there will be one more joining us."

Fortunately for Ivanova's nerves, Talia picked that moment to walk through the doors of the conference room. 

Talia stopped as she entered, "Good morning Ambassador. Commander. I understand I'm here for a meeting?" She stayed at her end of the large conference table, near the doors. A little distance was never a bad thing when dealing with Minbari. They always gave her a bit of a headache if she were too close.

Delenn looked from one to the other, "We have recently become friends of a sort, have we not?"

Talia thought about this for a moment. "I have become more comfortable with the Commander, that is so. I have not noticed a change in our interactions, Ambassador."

Ivanova nodded, "I note the same for Ms. Winters. You and I have certainly discussed subjects beyond station's business of late. You could describe that as becoming friends I suppose. Why does that matter just now?"

Delenn made several movements with her hands, looking almost like a wizard in an old 2d, and the holo display in the center of the table came to life. "This is a view of Arisia III's solar system. It is home to a mining colony that appears to be doing well. We have information that it is in imminent danger and we have reason to want to save at least one of its inhabitants."

Ivanova sat back, “What sort of danger, Ambassador?”

Delenn paused for moment, as if deciding what, or perhaps how much, to share with her new “friends. “Vorlons are not the only ancient race. There are others, less friendly to the younger races and we have reason to believe Arisia III is in danger from one of those.”

“So why not evacuate the whole colony? Why just one member?” 

Delenn would have sighed if she knew how. Ivanova could be very persistent and not always to her advantage. “A full scale operation would both tip our hand and endanger even more worlds. While we can’t save the whole colony, we can save this one.”

Talia spoke up, “How do you know this particular one is important?”

Delenn had forgotten just how curious humans could be; never content with the explanation given if they could find a question to ask. “Because, Ms. Winters, a very strong Centauri Seeress has communicated with some of our strongest telepaths. She has seen several futures as relates to Arisia III, but all fail catastrophically without this young man. That suggests to us that saving him would be a good choice.”

Ivanova and Talia exchanged a look. Us?

"You say "we," Ambassador. How do all three of us have anything at stake together anywhere, much less Arisia III? That's out near the rim!" Ivanova was confused, and she didn't like that feeling.

"You ask a good question, Susan and please, Delenn." The Ambassador turned to Talia, "Can you reach that far, Ms. Winters?"

Talia looked at her skeptically, "Of course not, Ambassador! Not even a P12 can reach those kinds of distances." Talia privately wondered if she could reach that far, but it wouldn't do to let anyone else know if she could. That could only get back to Bester and make him even more interested in her. That she didn't need. Though she wondered how far she might go to save someone if asked.

"Pardon me, but this is vital, Ms. Winters. I know your best telepaths can reach over huge distances in hyperspace, but I do not know what limits you might have in regular space. Is it possible that someone of your skill level could reach all the way to Arisia III?"

Talia knew that over hyperspace, they could reach some distance. Delenn was right about that. But from within normal space? She wondered if the gates were open at both ends – would that make a difference? Would she be able to access hyperspace from out here and reach across to out there? And why was Ivanova here for a discussion like this? She was just beginning to trust her. Could she trust her with this kind of knowledge?

For her part, Ivanova sat quiet. Delenn couldn't have forgotten about her, but if she made no noise, maybe they'd keep on talking and she could learn more about Talia’s abilities – or what Delenn was really up to.

"I don't know, Ambassador. I just don't know. Why do you ask?"

"We need to reach a young man on that mining colony. He has telepathic tendencies, though he is not himself a telepath. We believe that you could reach him, warn him – at least – to leave the colony at the right time." She turned to Ivanova, "Your help will be needed as well. If Ms. Winters can reach him, it will be with our support."

Ivanova responded with all the expected anger and denial one would expect of a latent telepath terrified by the corps. "Delenn – Ambassador – While I'm more than willing to stand guard while you two work or shoot at whomever you need me to shoot at, I am no teep and have no ability to help either of you in that manner. None at all." She turned away, now wishing for those windows to stare out into space from.

Delenn spoke quickly to clear any confusion, “I believe I was unclear, Commander. I intend that you should keep the gate open so that Ms. Winters can access Hyperspace. We have someone at the other end that keep the gate open.”

“Oh, well, I can certainly do that for you, Ambassador.”

Delenn nodded and turned to Talia, "Ms. Winters, will you try?"

Talia thought for a moment. Ivanova was certainly no friend of Psycorps, she wouldn't tell them anything. Of course, Bester could rip it from her with little trouble, but Talia could just as easily wipe it if it came to that. But she still had questions. "Who are we to save? Why is this one so important to you? And who is 'we'?"

Delenn cocked her head, the way she did when she questioned the meaning of a speaker.

Ivanova spoke up, "I think she means who is the 'we' you keep referring to when you say things like 'We need to reach a young man.'"

Delenn nodded, "Ah, I understand. I speak as the voice of many who you will come to know soon. Just now, they would prefer to stay in the shadows, but that will not be for long."

Ivanova hated secrets, however much she understood the need for them. She was happy at least that this secret must sit in the hands of Delenn, but she still didn't like them.

Talia could tell this one Delenn wanted to save was important in some larger scheme of things. She wondered about her limits as well. This might be the safest way to test them while helping someone like Delenn, who she could at least partly trust. "Alright, Ambassador, I'll give it a try. What do you want me to do? Are you looking for full telepathic contact or just a "feeling" that he should leave where he is?"

Delenn looked very pleased with herself. "The latter is fine, Ms. Winters. The more he believes it's his own idea, the better. He is not, currently, particularly fond of Minbari.

Ivanova snorted. Delenn looked over at her with one eyebrow cocked, "Commander?"

Ivanova looked at Delenn, "I was just thinking that it's hardly surprising that a miner on the edge of known space would have issues with Minbari."

"While that might be true, it is hardly helpful. We hope to bring him around in time. But just now we want only to ensure his continued existence." Delenn turned back to Talia and waited.

Talia thought about it. Just a shove in the right direction? That would be something she should be able to do subtly enough that it could be denied and would leave no fingerprint. Earning the regard of a Minbari Ambassador could be useful as well.

"Alright, Ambassador. Two questions: How will I recognize the right one, and when do we need to do this?"

Delenn looked at both women, "Now would be a good time. And you should have no trouble recognizing the singularly focused mind of man determined to save his family's Legacy. Ms.Winters, would you prefer to work from the privacy of this conference space or is there a space that would better suit you?”

“I think I would prefer something with a view to space. We tend to work line of sight, so seeing the gates would make it easier for me to wrap my head around what we’re doing.”

Delenn stood and began to walk toward the door, “Commander, am I right in assuming you need to be in C’n’C to have the gates open?”

Ivanova nodded.

Delenn continued, “Then Ms. Winters, if that would work for you, we can all work from the same room.”

Talia opened the door, “If we can reduce the compliment in C’n’C before we begin, that would make it easier for me to work. Is that possible, Commander Ivanova?”

Ivanova moved quickly to the door, passing Talia as she exited, “I can give everyone a lunch break at the same time. Would that be sufficient?”

Talia smiled and followed Ivanova, “Yes.” 

Delenn followed both of them to C’n’C, pleased that this was working so well. It would not only save the one person who could rebuild Arisia III, it would lay the groundwork for later teamwork that would become necessary. While she would rather either stop the attack or evacuate the whole colony, her influence was, currently, a little less than it might be. Getting enough warships to that part of space fast enough would require more than she could muster just now. Evacuating the whole colony would require the at least as much, not to mention needing a planet to evacuate to.

They entered C’n’C, Ivanova invited the whole crew to go eat lunch “on the station” and while more than a few of them looked at her a little oddly, the nature of serving in the armed forces encouraged them to take the order rather than question it. The free lunch didn’t hurt.

"One more thing, Ambassador. How long should this man leave for?" Talia was sitting at Ivanova’s station, in the forward part of the command center.

Delenn looked lost in thought for a moment, "I think two weeks should be sufficient."

Talia nodded. Ivanova moved to the controls to open the gates for Talia.

Delenn keyed the communications in the from an auxiliary console, "Lennier, I need the gates opened now." She counted to five, and nodded to Ivanova, “Lenneir is in contact with our team in the Arisian solar system. Those gates should be opened now, Commander.”

Ivanova keyed the local gates open and waited. 

Talia closed her eyes and saw the jumpgate in her mind. She reached out in the direction she knew Arisia III was and came out the other end of hyperspace. To her surprise she sensed a very strong presence at the other end. Delenn had been right about recognizing a man on a mission. This one might actually be a latent, and had no idea he was. She was able to reach in and push, just so. He should leave, there were a couple of concerns he should attend to off world. Now would be a good time to so. Don't come back for a couple of weeks. The travel and meetings would take that long anyway.

Ivanova watched Talia, though she could see little more than the woman close her eyes and as usual, had no idea what was really going on in Talia’s mind.

Talia stepped back and dropped her head. 

"Lennier, close the gates. Now." Ivanova responded by closing the gates at this end as well.

And just like that, any connection was snapped shut. Talia didn't like that she wasn't able to clean up any "fingerprints" before she left. "Why did we sever connection suddenly?"

Delenn looked a little concerned, "We weren't alone out there. I did not want any of us to be noticed. Or recognized – now or later."

“I had no idea they were so close. Who were we disconnecting for just now?”

Delenn stood, "I cannot say for sure. There are older races that can hear things not meant for their ears. I can say that we were able to leave before we were noticed and that your "push" should be safe, Ms. Winters. We too have telepaths and I am assured you were not noticed."

Talia looked at Ivanova and back at Delenn, "Pardon, you had Minbari Telepaths listening in?" She looked somewhere between incensed and offended.

"No, Ms. Winters, I did not. I did have one of them assure me that there was no one else in that region of space paying attention. Some of our telepaths have regular areas of responsibility and one of them is out near the Arisia colony. It's how we knew we needed to have that young man leave now."

Ivanova responded, "You have your telepaths “walking a beat”?"

"That is… not a bad way to explain it, Commander."

"So if you already had a telepath out there, why did you need me?"

"We needed you for several reasons, Ms. Winters. First, because you are much stronger than the telepath who's "beat" it is. Second, because your contact has no scent of Minbari with it. While he is not a telepath, he has a strong sense of self and others. It was deemed likely he would have just enough uncomfortable a feeling to ignore the suggestion if it came from one of us. Third, because the three of us working together is a good thing. It will strengthen us for future work."

"Alright. I can see that. This was… interesting, Ambassador. Thank you for the opportunity to test my limits. Are we done?" She turned toward the exit.

Delenn stood, "Yes, we are done. Thank you for your time. You will find a consideration for your efforts in your accounts, Ms. Winters."

Talia smiled, "Pleasure doing business with you.” She turned to Ivanova, “Commander, perhaps I'll see you later?"

Ivanova stood as well, leaning on the console with both hands, "Perhaps, Ms. Winters." Secretly she hoped for dinner. This woman was becoming more interesting with each passing day.

Talia left, Ivanova turned to Delenn, "Ambassador, this was, as Ms. Winters said, interesting. May I know who we were helping?"

Delenn cocked her head again in thought, an oddly endearing behavior – and a good tell, thought Ivanova. "Suffice to say that the Mining concern on Arisia III will suffer a great blow in the very near future, but that today, the three of us have made it possible for that concern to rebuild when we will need it most."

Ivanova knew when Delenn got obscure it was better to go look things up than ask for more information.

Delenn smiled, walking toward the doors of C’n’C, Ivanova following, "Sometimes the Universe requires… a change of perspective…"

Ivanova went back to the view afforded to her at the front of command. Delenn was right, as usual. A change of perspective might be just the thing.

She also looked up the Arisia Mining Colony when she got back to her quarters. The Cole family owned it, one of the last independent operations dealing with a ruinous tax from Earth Alliance. The head of that family would have no great love for the government. She had no idea if that would become useful information or not, but things associated with Delenn had a habit of turning up in the oddest places. She'd hold onto that bit for later.

**Author's Note:**

> This happens after Soul Mates and A Race Through Dark Places: A time of budding friendships and the beginning of trust.
> 
> Thanks to my beta, Sir Muccamukk, for GREAT feedback - story structure changed more than once with all that feedback!
> 
> References:  
> Map of regional space (who owns what): http://crossovercomic.com/media/extras/Unrelated/babylon5/spacemap2258.jpg


End file.
